


5 Days of a Grimes' Christmas

by ToshiakiOda



Category: The Walking Dead (Comics), The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Kissing, Lori is alive, Lots of papercuts okay, M/M, Mistletoe, Rick and Negan suck at stuff, Sick kisses, Slight Deprivation, So is Shane, maybe Negan has a clothing kink, sappy af, sick, unfortunately, who even knows anymore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-10 22:55:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8942830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToshiakiOda/pseuds/ToshiakiOda
Summary: Rick wasn't quite sure if these were the most ridiculous or the most sappy five days before Christmas he'd ever had. Probably both.;; 5 chapters on the last five days of Christmas! I wanted to write a Rick and Negan fic but I also wanted a Christmas fic too so I took this as the perfect chance. Five different small prompts, five different ... interesting but loving days in a house in the small town of Alexandria.





	1. Sick

**Author's Note:**

> Not the longest of chapters but I figured they didn't need to be. Short and sweet, I thought it'd be perfect for the season. <3 Enjoy!

“Un-fucking-believable,” Negan hoarsed out, before being sent into another coughing fit. Rick just sighed, patting his sick boyfriend’s back a few times as if it’d will the hacking away. Needless to say, it didn’t.

They were in the bedroom, where Negan had made his home in a home for about a week now. Just a cold, thank God, they didn’t need the kids getting any flus this close to Christmas. Nasty cold though, switching from a runny and stuffy nose that’d used up probably five boxes of tissues by now to a cough that had the taller of the two men guzzling three bottles of cough syrup a day. Obviously Rick was exaggerating to himself, but after all the trips to Alexandria’s small town pharmacy it didn’t _feel_ like he was.

“You don’t have to pat me on the back, it’s not like I’m two here Rick,” Negan muttered out, evening out his breathing again as he shifted uncomfortably on the edge of the bed. He’d insisted to Rick that he couldn’t lay down on that god forsaken mattress another damn day but the sheriff’s deputy wasn’t having any of it. But, they did compromise at letting the darker haired man have his try at walking around the bedroom. He hadn’t lasted a minute before having to rest here, on the side of the bed again.

“Maybe you should just lay back down,” Rick commented, coming out as more of an order as he cocked a brow in the other’s direction.

“And what are you gonna’ do if I don’t, Mr. Po-lice-man?” The taller chuckled, looking over with that knowing little smirk of his and a cocked brow of his own. “You gonna’ arrest me officer? Cause I have to say that’d be _pretty hot_ ,” he laughed again.

“Negan, you’re sick,” the shorter pointed out, though despite his best efforts one of his thighs were shifting closer to his boyfriend. “We can’t have both of us getting sick, that makes too much of a chance for the kids to get sick too. There’s a big enough risk already as is.” Good, okay, Negan hadn’t noticed.

“Well if there’s already a risk then what’s the damn problem? Besides, Rick! If they were gonna’ get sick they would have done it already, plus, I think Carl would be able to take care of Judith just fine,” the sick man challenged. Yes, challenged. Rick knew better than to think Negan would back down so easily.

“It’s almost _Christmas_ ,” Rick sighed. “If Judith got sick now she’d be heartbroken. Carl, too. Christmas isn’t just—“

“Carl has a heart?” Negan laughed, earning a glare from the healthier of the two men. So maybe Negan and Carl didn’t have the best relationship. Rick liked to think it was the stereotypical teenage rebellion and the fact that kids almost always hate their step parents. Deep down somewhere he knew he was right, but he still worried. Nonetheless, it hadn’t caused any real problems so far. And hopefully wouldn’t, ever.

Rick decided not to comment on that, for obvious reasons. He just shook his head and moved his hands to his knees, muscles bracing to stand up until he felt a slightly clammy hand overlap one of his own.

“C’mon, Rick. I don’t even get a pity kiss?” Negan said, feigning hurt, but that faded off quickly as the shorter glanced over and he smirked again. “Pretty please with a _big_ ol’ fucking cherry on top?” Rick wouldn’t point out that that was technically begging. Not until later, anyways.

The lighter haired man looked to the side, hesitated, before nodding. “Just a kiss,” he agreed, blue eyes looking over again.

“Just kissing,” Negan hummed. Rick should have taken the hint right there but he didn’t. He’d missed it, unfortunately. Or well, maybe not unfortunately.

Negan’s hand was on the back of the shorter man’s neck before either of them had fully leaned in. Rick didn’t even have enough time to question it before he was being pulled into a kiss that was definitely more than just a pity peck. His brows furrowed. This man …

The taller man’s body was radiating heat like a generator. Rick knew it was from the cold, but he couldn’t help but find it slightly amusing that there was also a chance he was all lusted up from being pent up for a week now. Not that Rick doubted his boyfriend didn’t … do it on his own. He probably did. But he really wasn’t going to think about that right now.

The lighter haired man couldn’t help but smile into their lip-lock, though he brought a hand up to rest against the base of the other’s neck, pushing gently to separate them. The hand on the back of his neck tried to hold him in place but by then Rick had leaned back enough and only gave Negan a look, who groaned in response.

“You’re an ass,” Negan stated, and in response Rick couldn’t help but give a small laugh.

“Yeah, I am,” he murmured, leaning in for one last kiss before he heard their bedroom door creaking open.

“Dad, Judith says she -- … guys, _gross_ ,” Carl scoffed, standing in the doorway and staring at them like they’d just ‘pissed in his damn cheerios’. That’s how Negan would have put it, anyways.

 They pulled apart completely now, or at least Rick did, having to grab Negan’s wrist and pull it away from himself before glancing to Carl with a smile he just couldn’t hold back. “What’d Judith say, son?”

“… She’s hungry. What are you making for lunch?” The teen question, still staring at them, mainly Negan. The brunette kind of looked like he wanted to punch one if not both of them in the jaw right about now. He was probably thinking about Judith getting sick, too. He was a good brother.

Rick stood, hands on his hips, taking a few steps from the bed. It didn’t take much thought before he responded with, “Chicken noodle soup,” earning a dramatic groan from both his son and his boyfriend. So maybe he’d been making them eat it for the whole week now, but he was trying to make sure the tallest male of the house got better, and hopefully keep the sickness from everyone else in the process. Rick laughed, slipping past Carl in the doorway and went for the stairs, and didn’t give it much thought when Carl stayed behind.

He’d become some expert on cooking chicken noodle soup after how many times he’s done it this week, so it didn’t take him long to get everything going. Broth, noodles, chicken. He was chopping up some celery and carrots, and if Negan were down here he would have called Rick a damned housewife. Whatever. Who was the one that was being babied and taken care of right now? That’s when he heard two pairs of footsteps behind him, one set shuffling more than the other, and then pots and dishes were being grabbed up and thrown into the sink or trash can – “What the hell are you guys doing?!” They’d just thrown the whole damn meal away.

“Calm down, Rick! ‘S not like the apocalypse is coming any time soon, no need to get your little lace panties in a twist,” Negan said, giving one of those goofy little giggles of his before looking to Carl. Even he had been in on this? “Good job, kid.”

That’s when he heard the doorbell ring, and both of the two that had just sabotaged his meal went scurrying over to the door.

“Merry Christmas,” a male voice answered the door with, and Rick knew who it was right away. Glenn. Their few-doors-down-neighbor, and … pizza delivery boy. “Here you guys go.”

“And Merry fucking Christmas to you too!” Negan hollered, as Rick watched his son take up the two boxes with a grin on his face. Negan fished his wallet out of his blue checkered robe, and now that the sheriff’s deputy had walked closer and seen the look on the Asian boy’s face he was guessing his boyfriend had just given the kid a pretty good damn tip. Well, he deserved it anyways, but they did still need money for a few last minute Christmas presents here.

They said their goodbyes and Carl set the boxes on the kitchen table, going through the kitchen to fish out some plates and drinks and Rick could only stare at him, and eventually Negan too, who'd shuffled in to get his share. "You two are ridiculous." 

"Yeah, we are," the taller man hummed back, giving a Rick a knowing look that he could only laugh at before going to get some pizza for himself.

"Hell with it."

These two men were the most stubborn and assholish people ever but he decided he wouldn't ever trade them for the world. He just hoped, with a chuckle to himself, that they wouldn't rub off on Judith too much, who was currently tugging as Negan's pajama pants asking 'papa' for a plate too. 


	2. Bleeding Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Manly men use band-aids.

“You’ve never shopped for a kid before Carl and Judith? Not even one?”

“Not a single pipsqueak,” Negan confirmed with a nod of the head, glancing around at the PS4 games. They’d already gone through the aisles that had presents Judith would want, though all the ‘pink and sparkly bullshit’ had Negan hightailing it as soon as he found the gifts he wanted to get her. He’d said sure, he’d wanted to spoil the little sunshine, and hell by the look of his basket he still was, but he couldn’t handle all that … _girl_ in one aisle.

“No nieces, nephews, nothing?” Rick glanced over a few games himself, trying to recall which ones Carl had specified that he wanted. Of course the typical shooters – Call of Duty, Battlefield. He’d said something about a zombie game, too, though didn’t really choose a specific one and left the decision up to his dad and Negan.

“Nope,” the taller man said again, giving a chuckle. “Sorry I’m no hotshot daddy like you there Rick.” The lighter haired man wasn’t even going to comment on that. He knew Negan found himself a sufficient enough ‘daddy’ in … other ways. “What about this one?”

“Yeah, that one looks good too,” Rick nodded. So they had a few options. Left 4 Dead, there were a couple of those in the series it seemed. Last of Us, which he’d heard Carl mention had a second one coming out soon. And The Evil Within, which was what Negan was holding in his hand right now.

Carl had only just gotten this PS4 and he had plenty of games he hadn’t even gotten around to yet that he already owned, so Rick decided it’d be best to go with baby steps and go with the one that wasn’t part of a series. “Put it in one of the baskets,” the shorter said, giving Negan a glance as he slid the game into Rick’s basket and smirked.

“I was hoping you’d pick that one. The main dude on there looks like you. He’s a big bad officer, too.”

Rick cocked a brow. What? No way. He reached a hand over to grab up the case again and looked the thing over more precise, brows furrowing slightly. Well alright then. That was pretty weird. “Maybe we shouldn’t get this one.”

“What? Why?” Negan laughed, plucking the game from his boyfriend’s fingers and placing it into his own basket instead, in case Rick fully changed his mind. “Hell if the kid doesn’t play it I will.” That did not make him feel any better.

“Alright. Okay. Fine,” Rick hesitated, before nodding. “Did we get everything we needed?”

“Yes-sir-y. Let’s get the hell outta’ here.”

000

“ _Shit biscuits_. Hand me another band-aid Rick,” Negan grumbled, pulling his hand away from the half wrapped Frozen book set so that he didn’t bleed all over the things. That’d already happened with a stuffed doll and they decided it best to ditch that gift and get a new one if they had to. Giving Judith a bloody toy would be … not great.

Rick went for the box, bringing it up and reaching in, but he stopped. “… We’re out.”

“Well _fuck_ me sideways,” Negan huffed. “Completely? None of the tiny ones stragglin’ around somewhere?”

“No. Went through all of those when you tried to touch that dead porcupine Daryl brought in over the summer,” Rick reminded, and Negan laughed.

“Oh yeah.”

The men sat there, staring at their mess. Wrapping paper shreds, empty tubes, bundled up tape and tissues for the blood all littered the living room floor. Rick reminded himself how happy he was for sending Carl and Judith to Glenn and Maggie’s house for the time being, because he couldn’t even imagine trying to do this in a smaller space than the open living room. Well, he could, but it wasn’t the prettiest of pictures.

Glancing to Negan’s finger then, he thought for a second before he was shuffling over on his knees. He grabbed a clean tissue, glad they didn’t need them for Negan’s cold anymore, since he’d miraculously gotten over it during the night. Negan was convinced it was from the pizza. He tore the soft paper in half, curling the material around his boyfriend’s finger and holding it there, free hand grabbing up the tape. He’d managed to get a long enough piece with his one hand, before wrapping that around the tissue to keep it secure. “Best we can do for now.”

“Aren’t we just the medical professional,” Negan snorted, which Rick rolled his eyes at. “Maybe you should put on one of those sexy nurse costumes for me, huh? One of the ones that keep your cheeks hanging out.”

“That’s never happening,” the shorter man said amusedly, moving the other’s hand up to pepper small kisses over Negan’s band-aid covered fingers. Rick’s weren’t any better. They’d cut themselves on wrapping paper, scissors, the metal part of the tape dispensers. It was ridiculous.

The darker haired man just gave an uncharacteristic hum in response, and the sheriff’s deputy glanced up to see Negan watching his lips as he kissed at his covered skin. Obviously he knew what he wanted. The exact same thing he’d wanted yesterday. He wasn’t worried about the sickness anymore, not after that smug little miracle of his. So … why not?

Negan gave a wolfish smirk as soon as he saw the decision pass through Rick’s eyes. He shifted, crisscrossing his legs, and then the shorter man was putting his knees on either side of his boyfriend’s hips and sitting in his lap. “Atta’ boy,” he purred, hands going to rest on the shorter’s hips.

“Shut up and kiss me already,” Rick grinned, his own hands moving to cup stubbled cheeks. Negan gave a chuckle in response, the end of it muffled as their lips pressed together.

Kissing Negan was never the same. Don’t ask him how to describe that, either, cause he didn’t know. It was always just … different. A good different, no doubt.

Blue and hazel eyes had long closed, Negan’s hands kneading along Rick’s hips and the lighter haired man’s hands carding through and playing with the ends of much darker hair. The affection wasn’t very loving for long, kisses soon turning desperate from the lack of attention the men had received while Negan was sick. So maybe the taller guy wasn’t the only one all pent up. Not that Rick would admit it.

The taller man had pulled away just so that he could push Rick down onto his back, both of them ignoring the wrapping paper that crinkled underneath the cop. “I am _so_ glad your little Satan spawn isn’t here to spoil this again,” Negan mused, and Rick blinked. Right, they couldn’t do this. They had kids waiting for them at another house and they needed to get this work done so that they could come home. They didn’t have time. Negan seemed to realize what he’d just done too, because he’d narrowed his eyes and pressed a hand into Rick’s chest so that he couldn’t sit up so easy. “Hell no. Nobody’s leaving this house until I bone you.”

“Negan, we can’t just stick the kids on Glenn and Maggie all night. They’ve got things to do too,” Rick tried to reason, as his boyfriend popped open the first few buttons of his blue shirt before leaning down to kiss up his neck.

“We can have a quickie, and then we can - … can’t we just stick the presents under the tree, throw a blanket overtop to cover it all and call it good?” He’d pulled away from Rick’s neck by now, staring at him in question as he tried to flick open the remaining buttons. Rick grabbed his wrist, giving him another one of his looks as he shook his head.

“We aren’t doing either of those,” the officer huffed. “Let me up or you aren’t getting any on Christmas either.” Needless to say, that was enough for Negan to shoot up to his feet.

“You are one cruel man Rick Grimes,” Negan scoffed, hands on his hips. The ‘cruel man’ shook his head, standing himself up and bringing his shirt to a close again.

They’d went to grab themselves some desperately needed beers from the kitchen, before returning to the living room floor. They’d only tried their hands at wrapping again for about five minutes before Negan was chucking a tape dispenser across the room, both of them watching it hit the wall and shatter.

“Screw this horse shit. I’m done,” the taller man said, a more than a little aggravated by now. Rick had to hold back a laugh. How had they managed last year?

… Oh yeah. They hadn’t. They’d called Carol. Or well, Negan had called Carol, because Rick could never pin this on the woman, but she’d insisted it was no trouble and didn’t ask for anything in return. But when Rick realized Negan had whipped out his phone already and dialed the number, he knew he was too late to argue again. Once Carol heard of someone in need there was no stopping her from being the woman of the year.

000

Thursday, Dec. 22nd, 9:34 PM.

_Ready? Remember, away from the windows_

Thursday, Dec. 22nd, 9:34 PM.

**Got it**

Rick took that as their sign to go. He opened the front door and waved Negan out, waiting until the man was on the porch to close the front door. So maybe he’d texted Glenn to make sure they didn’t get caught as they ran down the road to Carol’s house. And maybe Negan had a huge trash bag full of presents slung over his shoulder like Santa Clause himself, and Rick had a much smaller bag full of the wrapping supplies in his hand as they did a half jog to their destination.

“We must look stupid as shit,” Negan laughed, and Rick quickly hushed him. He didn’t need the kids, or anyone for that matter, hearing them and trying to get a peek at what was going on right now. Because he had a feeling his boyfriend was right and he really didn’t feel like being recorded.

Thankfully it didn’t take long since the woman was only three houses down, and she’d greeted them with a warm smile at the door. Her expression quickly changed though, hand moving up to cover her mouth as she held back a laugh. “Rick. Negan,” she greeted simply, holding the door open wider and standing off to the side so that they could get everything in, watching the two winded men amusedly.

After trying to offer her something and getting nowhere just like last year, the two men left with their goodbyes, being told the presents would be wrapped by morning. Once they’d gotten home they’d decided another beer each wouldn’t hurt anything before they sunk into the couch.

“Well that was a shit show,” the darker haired man laughed, and Rick did the same.

“Yeah, it was. But it was your idea.”

“Better than yours, trying to do that shit ourselves.” That might be true.

Glancing over to his boyfriend, blue and hazel mingled for a good few seconds before they were leaning in for a quick kiss. Negan let his lips trail lower after that, down Rick’s stubbled jawline and then to his neck, feeling no movement from the shorter man other than a shift of his shoulder. Rick felt a hand on his hip, and with a smirk he’d pulled back to glance at Negan, phone in hand.

“I just texted Glenn to let him know the kids can come home,” he hummed.

“… You’re shitting me.”


	3. Throwback Thursday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick recalls the past. I know it's Friday by this part of the story but it's still Thursday here so I wanted to do this. c; Hope you enjoy!

Friday, Dec. 23rd, 6:47 AM.

**I’ve got your presents all wrapped up**

So maybe Rick, and especially Negan, weren’t happy they were being woken up at a quarter to seven in the morning on Christmas break. The sheriff’s deputy had remarked about how at least it wasn’t the station, and not to mention, they didn’t have the right to be unhappy about it. Not after what Carol had done for them for the second year in a row. Negan had only muttered something incoherent, snuggling further into Rick’s back, before the shorter man managed to roll out of his boyfriend’s arms and slip out of the bed. The officer obviously had a lot more experience with and tolerance for early mornings. Hell, Negan didn’t even have a tolerance for _late_ mornings.

Rick grabbed up his phone while he shuffled over to the dresser, standing in front of the thing while he typed for a second before tossing it back to the bed, careful not to whap his boyfriend with the device.

Friday, Dec. 23rd, 6:50 AM.

_We’ll be there soon_

He took his time as he slipped his belt on, giving his lazy ass boyfriend just another minute or two to wake up before he was chucking some black jeans and a red long sleeve at his face.

“I – _Christ_ , Rick! Could’ve been a little more _romantic_ ,” Negan chided, though the shorter man did see a smirk pierce his lips.

“Right. Because you’re the romance type of guy,” the officer teased, shaking his head as he sat at the edge of the bed to slip some socks on as Negan finally stood up.

“I _am_ the romance type of guy. Remember on our trip up north? Shit, what the hell is that guy’s name … Dwight! Heh, the guy hates me, but I got him to let us stay at his cabin anyways. Buttered him up like we’re some kind of friends. But anyways, I took those candles and set them up around the edge of the pond.” Rick remembered about half of them had gone out by the time Negan lead him there, but whatever. Where did he even get that many candles? “Then we had ourselves a little gay ass picnic and then … and then, tell me what happened Rick,” the darker haired man hummed out, like he was much more than just proud of himself.

“And then you fucked me in the dirt. Very romantic,” Rick said, rolling blue eyes, but there was a grin on his face anyways. It’s not like he had actually minded, actually that night was … _good,_ but, he just liked to torment Negan sometimes. Payback.

He glanced over to see a pout on his boyfriend’s features, like a puppy that’d just been kicked to the curb. And of course the man walked a few feet away just to get a little farther from Rick, getting his clothes on and giving the shorter male a glare before practically stomping out of the bedroom. The lighter haired man had to put a hand over his mouth to muffle any chuckle that wanted to escape, because all he could think about was the fact that his was just like one of Judith’s fits.

A couple seconds later Rick was following after, checking up on his daughter quickly to make sure she would be out of it while they were gone on their quick trip. He didn’t have to check to see if Carl were up, that kid had been sleeping until noon since break started. Rick had wanted to make sure he was getting up two hours before that at the latest every day, but Negan had called him the killer of holiday spirit.

They met at the front door, the taller man not even giving the other a glance which amused Rick beyond belief. He was starting to feel a little bad though, so he reached a hand up to the other’s cheek and placed a kiss to his nose, which Negan blinked at. “It _was_ romantic. Thank you,” Rick murmured, earning a quick smirk from his boyfriend.

“Told you.”

The pair headed out then, down the road and to Carol’s house, grabbing the things up and walking home looking just as ridiculous as last night. At least it wasn’t in the dark this time, Rick was sure that had made it twenty percent weirder. Hopefully it was early enough so that no one else would be up, though.

Rick and Negan got home, heading straight for the bedroom where they took the wrapped presents and stacked them in the empty space under their bed. Corny hiding place, but whatever. Tradition used to be like every other lazy family in America; put the presents under the tree as soon as they were wrapped. But, ever since he’d divorced his ex-wife Lori, he’d changed things up so that the households wouldn’t just be doing the same thing. So, he and Negan waited until Christmas Eve night. And when he said Christmas Eve night, he usually meant early ass Christmas morning.

He wasn’t too upset about the divorce. Main reason why it’d ever hurt was because of the kids. No child should have to go through that. But Rick and Lori, they’d tried for so long, and they just hadn’t been getting anywhere. Communication, Lori said, was the main issue. So when the sheriff’s deputy would finally open his mouth the woman would just bash in everything he had to say like a rotted skull. So after a fight one night, Rick went to the bar. His intentions had been to get totally hammered but it’d changed when a stranger two stools over had introduced himself and read him like a damn book. And, you guessed it, the stranger had been his current boyfriend.

“You look like a sack of shit,” the man chuckled, and even though there were numerous other people around the wooden and marble bar, Rick couldn’t help but glance over. To this day he still didn’t know how he’d managed to notice in the dim light of the old country bar, but those hazel eyes, he’d decided, were something man or woman could easily find themselves lost in. Willingly. Slicked back black hair, salt and pepper beard, a leather jacket that lined out his broad shoulders perfectly. And that … _god damned_ smirk of his.

Rick had to look away. Into his glass, more specifically, the first glass he’d ordered for the night that was one sip to being empty. “What?”

“I _said_ , Officer Dipshit,” Rick looked down at himself. Oh. He was still wearing his uniform. Must be great for his image, cop at a bar looking to get hammered. He hadn’t had the time to take it off at home before he’d fled here. “-that you look like somebody dragged your pretty little face through some horse stables. Your old lady keeping you bone dry?” The man snorted, taking a drink from his own glass.

Rick just stared. For multiple reasons, that he was too tipsy to actually think about right now. He knew one of them was because the guy had just downed his glass before taking the stool next to Rick’s. “Cat got your tongue?”

“She told me to go to hell in front of our little boy,” Rick stated, not seeing the harm in telling, as he finished his own glass, lifting an arm so he could wave the chick behind the counter over to get him another.

“Why don’t you just hold your damn horses with that for a minute,” he referred to the drinks. He’d grabbed Rick’s wrist, quickly pinning it back down on marble, and the roughness should have had a cop of all people a little concerned, but it didn’t. “So you had a little fuckin’ fight. That’s what married couples do. You think coming here is going to make that any better?” He sounded like he was talking from experience.

Rick didn’t remember a lot of it from there. It’s not like he’d gotten drunk, but that night was … something he tried not to think about too much. He just remembered heading home with a change of heart, ready to communicate as much as Lori needed, just to be met with his best friend’s naked ass fucking his wife on his bed in his house, with his little boy sleeping in the bedroom a room over.

That’s when Rick distracted himself with the present. Point gotten, they’d went to court with no hesitation, eventually deciding that the kids would switch houses every other week. Lori and Shane now lived in the old house, and no one knew for sure if Judith was actually Rick’s or Shane’s. It was okay though. It was all okay.

It’d been four years since then, and Rick honestly hadn’t been happier. He was reminded of this when both he and Negan finished hiding away the presents, plopping back into bed to nap away until a reasonable time in the morning. Negan had automatically snuggled into the shorter man’s back, kissing at the exposed part of his neck for a good six seconds before stilling.

“… If you hadn’t ever snuck my phone from me and put your number in there that night at the bar, I don’t know where I’d be,” Rick admitted, quietly. The arm around him squeezed him a little tighter, and the cop felt warm breath ghost over the back of his neck in a soft sigh.

“I know,” Negan hummed, almost smugly, pressing a kiss to the back of Rick’s hair. The lighter haired man smiled, and both of them knew nothing else had to be said before they both drifted off into a few quick hours or sleep.


	4. Cuddles and Cocoa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas movie nights are cute. Settled.

“What genius put that there?” Negan questioned from the other room. Rick could only guess that the question was meant to be sarcastic, because the taller man’s veins were practically all made up of sarcasm. But when he took a few steps out of the kitchen and saw Negan had the front door open, pointing up at the top of the door frame, he knew his boyfriend was definitely being literal. Mistletoe.

“In this town? Who knows. I didn’t notice it this morning,” the deputy shrugged, turning to go back to work in the kitchen again.

“Ah-ah-ah! Back over here, officer. I am _not_ missing this damn fine opportunity.” Rick could practically _hear_ the smirk in his voice.

“I’ve got stuff cooking,” the shorter protested with a smile.

“Hot chocolate on the stove is _not_ cooking,” the taller corrected. “Fucking weird anyways. I thought you were a dad Rick Grimes, not a grandma.” Negan shut the door, and the officer knew it wouldn’t be long before his boyfriend tried to get him over there again. Hell, he was surprised that Negan hadn’t brought the damn stuff over.

“Don’t act like you don’t like it,” the lighter haired man countered. “How many mugs did you have last time I made this? Five?”

“Six.”

“Exactly.”

“Shut your whore mouth.” They both laughed, as Negan came up behind Rick, pressing against him. Arms had wrapped around a slightly slimmer waist, and his boyfriend had pecked a kiss to his jaw before resting his chin on Rick’s shoulder.

They’d stayed like that for a good few minutes, and every now and then the sheriff’s deputy would add more cream or pieces of chocolate, letting Negan taste test it each time. He liked to cook it slow and add things later rather than all at once; made it richer and thicker. When he’d explained that to his boyfriend the first time he made it, Negan had made a point to say that that wasn’t the only thing Rick liked to make thicker.

Soon enough the shorter man was asking the taller to go find the kids, while he filled up three mugs and a sippy cup. Couldn’t hurt to be safe. He popped a few bags of kettle corn after telling the three to go pick out some Christmas movies, and soon enough they were all snuggled into the living room. Negan was sitting back on one of the arms of the couch, Rick settled between his legs, and Judith on Rick’s lap, while Carl was off to the side in the recliner.

Nothing was said much through the stream of movies, except for when Negan would accuse Rick of being like the Scrooge or the Grinch, in which the officer would respond with how Negan was definitely those any other time of the year. Carl would smirk and Judith would giggle, and then they’d go quiet again.

They’d gotten to the third movie, and Judith was out like a light. At the end of the movie Rick went to grab her and stand to put her to bed, but Carl stood with a quick, “I got it,” and his father gave him a grin of appreciation. “Night dad, Negan.”

“Goodnight, shithead.” Rick glared at his boyfriend, and so did Carl.

“Night, son.”

Carl went upstairs with Judith, and Rick lightly elbowed the other man in the stomach. "Because that’s going to make him like you more,” he stated sarcastically.

"Of course it is,” Negan chuckled. He stopped then, though, and Rick glanced back to see his boyfriend pouting. “Do I really have to wait until fucking Christmas to screw you?”

“Maybe I’m your Christmas present,” Rick teased, earning a growl from behind.

“I want my present early then.”

The officer gave a fake sigh, deciding to shift and turn around to straddle the darker haired male’s thighs. “Half.”

“Half?” Rick nodded. “So … I don’t get to fuck you?”

“If you don’t want to do anything at all then—“

“Half,” he was interrupted with. “Whatever hell half _means._ ”

“You’ll see,” Rick murmured, hands moving up to fist the red fabric covering the older man’s chest. He’d seen Negan smirk, before they’d both moved in for a make out session porn stars would probably be jealous of. It didn’t last very long though, they’d both had their share of kissing the last few days. Well, technically the last week and a half. They kissed at bit at necks, peeling their shirts off, hands moving over any skin available before Negan put them on pause to shift his hips up and pull something out from underneath him … the fucking mistletoe.

“Where were you just keeping that?” Rick questioned, cocking a brow, though he couldn’t help but grin. Negan laughed, leaning in to kiss at slightly swollen lips before pulling back again.

“Do you wanna’ see?” The man responded, wiggling his eyebrows and earning a playful punch from Rick.

“I think we’ve moved past the kissing part though,” Rick commented, ignoring the ridiculous question. “You’re a little late.”

“Ah-ah, that’s where you’re wrong sweet cheeks,” the taller smirked, and the cop watched his boyfriend’s hand move down, placing the mistletoe right over Negan’s crotch. “Kissing ain’t what I’m after right now. Not up here anyways,” he practically giggled.

Rick shook his head. This man was a child. He could be so cute even though anyone else who knew Negan would think he was anything _but_ cute. That was okay, cause Rick didn’t _want_ anyone else knowing. “Alright.”

He was about to get off Negan, too. Shuffle onto his knees, pull down the other’s black pajama pants and – you get the point. But before he barely moved a muscle he heard a voice calling out from a few yards over. “You are _not_ about to do it on the couch,” Carl said, voice half disgusted and also a half plead that his dad and Negan were _not_ about to do what he just thought they were. The pair looked like deer caught in headlights, before Rick was quickly scrambling for their shirts and slipping his on while throwing Negan’s over his head.

“No, we just uh, we –“

“We _we’re_ , until you interrupted us for the _third time_ the week,” Negan huffed.

“Oh my god, you guys – you’re so nasty,” Carl groaned. “I never said I was going to bed too!”

“I’m sorry, Carl. We just … We’re sorry,” Rick said awkwardly, clearing his throat as he stood from the couch. “It is late though, so why don’t you. We will too.”

Carl looked skeptical beyond all hell, and he didn’t bother replying verbally before scurrying up the stairs. He couldn’t help but laugh, rubbing at his eyes for a second before looking to his now fully clothed boyfriend. “I guess we’ll just have to make Christmas night super special,” he mused, earning a small grunt in return.

“Fucking better.”

The kids would be heading to Lori’s Christmas afternoon, so at least then they’d have alone time. Rick had a feeling Negan wasn’t going to make it easy on him though.

They’d gotten any dishes taken care of and shut everything down downstairs, before heading up to bed for the night. By then it was half past midnight, and they’d both snuggled in under the comforters, Negan on his back and Rick with his head on the man’s chest.

“Merry Christmas Eve,” Rick hummed, tilting his head to take a glance at his boyfriend. He wasn’t expecting to be met with a confused expression, though.

“’Merry’? I thought it was Happy Christmas Eve,” Negan commented, like Rick had just said the dumbest thing ever.

“Why would it be happy if it’s _Merry_ Christmas?”

“Because, Rick. Every other damned holiday is happy so why can’t Christmas be happy too?”

Rick just laughed, giving a shrug, and Negan shut him up with a small nip to the ear.

“You’re not getting laid tonight,” Rick stated, and Negan paused before giving a prominent huff.

“I hate you Rick Grimes.”

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love playing their cruel god and having them get interrupted huehue. Sorry it's not longer lovelies my eyes are shitty. ;o Also sorry it was a little late in the day, doing the extra chapter butchered me lmao. Thanks for reading. <33


	5. Santa's Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Best spent with the family.

Christmas Eve was spent with practically the whole town, as was the tradition in Alexandria. If it were anywhere else, Rick would probably be repelled by the idea, spending a special day of the year with drunken and high troublemakers, loud and obnoxious know-it-alls, and snippy and gossipy women. But this town was nothing like that. They were all like one big family, always there for each other, and it was a pretty heartwarming thought to be perfectly honest. So maybe brothers Merle and Daryl got into some drugs sometimes (Rick just had to act like he didn’t notice). So maybe Andrea acted like she knew everything. So maybe a lot of the girls and women would group up all the time and giggle while looking at this person or that. But there were hints of respect in every high, in every snarky comment, in every stare. Maybe Spencer, the town hall leader’s son, was a different story, but that story was for another time.

At around noon everyone started at Carol’s house, where each of the little ones got a stocking full of treats and toys, and the teenagers got junk snacks, mini energy drinks, and a few simple things for their electronics. The parents all pointed out how she loved to spoil and she’d only nod and smile. She was a sweet thing. She’d always done the best she could to take care of everybody, and now that her abusive ex-husband was in the slammer she went even more all out. It was nice to see how much happier she and her little girl Sophia were. When Beth and Maggie sang carols and Carol’s, Negan had giggled like an idiot before they moved on.

Next was Hershel’s, who had decided to dress up as Santa this year might he add. He was on the far side of town, so most people had to get into their cars instead of walk, but nobody minded because even the adults were stupidly excited about the next event. A petting zoo. It was silly, everybody knew it, but who wasn’t a sucker for animals? The little ones squealed in excitement when petting the rabbits or chicks, and even some of the teens smiled when they got to hold a baby goat. The adults had little horse races while the kids were occupied before they all met up on the right side of the house. He’d said there was a surprise waiting there but hadn’t told anyone what. When everyone got there and the secret was revealed, most people gasped and the kid’s bounced around in excitement, even Judith who was in her papa’s arms. Hershel had rented two reindeer for the day, and now the little blonde in Rick’s boyfriend’s arms was convinced one of them had to be Rudolph and that Hershel was the real Santa Clause.

Last house was Glenn and Maggie’s, and naturally the young couple were the ones who decided to break out the alcohol and snacks. The kids and teens got sparkling juice and the adults got the good stuff, and everyone munched on cheese and crackers and sweets, Christmas music in the background while everyone just basked in the friendly company and talked about whatever came to mind. About two hours in is when everyone figured out Daryl had put the mistletoe up on every house with a couple, and Rick saw Negan give a smirk before glancing to the officer, who rolled his eyes with a grin.

It was about eight when everyone headed home, Judith completely tuckered out from the exciting day and honestly everyone else about the same. They kept Judith up long enough to get a light supper in her, since she’d had a pretty good amount of snacks during the day, and put her to bed. They weren’t worried about her waking up early, just because tomorrow was Christmas and she’d be doing that anyways so Rick and Negan were going to be prepared for it. Well, at least Rick would be prepared. Negan would be aware but the officer knew how his boyfriend was with mornings, so prepared wasn’t exactly the right word.

It wasn’t long before Carl went up to bed too, knowing it’d be hard for him to sleep the later and later it got because excitement for the next day would take over. Rick cleaned the kitchen while Negan had hopped in the shower, even though he’d insisted that the shorter man followed, and then they set up a few last Christmas decorations; the stockings on the mantel and little white glitter boot prints for Judith to see in the morning. The pair were both smiling at the thought of her reaction.

“You really raised some sweet kids, Rick. Or at least one,” Negan snorted. Rick couldn’t help but give a small laugh, though he knew if Carl ever heard anything like that he’d throw a shit-fit.

“You helped raise Judith just about as much as I did,” the lighter haired pointed out. “I just hope she doesn’t turn out so be as much of a smartass as you,” Rick teased.

“Nahh. She’s gonna’ be just like her daddy. Big ‘ol softie,” the taller hummed, going to place a quick kiss to Rick’s cheek before they were both retiring for the night.

They cuddled up to each other, just like every other night, but Negan just seemed … tense to Rick. He didn’t talk too much like he usually did either, and when he did it was quick answers with only small smiles before the man had drifted off to sleep. Maybe he was just worn out, Rick told himself. He’d had a glass or two of wine and another of spiked eggnog so it was probably just the tipsiness wearing itself off. Yeah, that was it. Definitely … but what if it wasn’t? Rick’s worried mind made him an enemy to sleep, until he’d been sitting there staring at the wall for so damn long he eventually just passed out.

000

Rick woke up to what sounded like shattering. His father and officer instincts and him shooting up, but he calmed a little to see Negan wasn’t in bed. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was about two in the morning. Now maybe Negan had went down there to fight off some criminal, sure, but Rick knew he hadn’t. First of all, no one would be stupid enough to rob a house with a sheriff’s vehicle in the driveway, and second, the taller male was clumsy as shit when he was tired and it was totally like him to be ransacking things down there. The deputy just hoped it hadn’t woken the kids up.

Bare feet patted downstairs, rubbing at his eyes some as he walked into the living room. The sight was … peculiar. The Christmas tree was on the floor, and Negan was standing there, arms out like he’d meant to catch it, just staring at the fallen thing dumbly. But the main catch was he was in a fucking Santa suit, black boots and all. He was just missing the beard, but at least he kind of had one of those already.

“…What the hell are you doing?” Rick asked, walking closer, making sure not to step on any broken ornament glass. “Is this your way of confessing you’re the real life Grinch?” He asked sarcastically, though his voice was just a bit groggy.

“I was _trying_ to put the presents out, since somebody’s ass didn’t even budge when I tried to wake them up to help me,” Negan remarked, hands going to his hips.

“You’re wearing a Santa costume,” Rick pointed out, as if it wasn’t already obvious. He was also just going to ignore the bit of sass Negan had going on over there. “Where did you even get that?”

“Pulled it out of my ass,” Negan retorted, as he moved to lift the tree, Rick carefully moving in to help too. “I bought it last year. I was bored as shit. Never touched it though, it’s been sitting up in the top of the closet.”

Top of the closet? Damn, a whole year and Rick hadn’t noticed. Maybe he should clean that space out of anything that was forgotten up there. “How many are left?” The officer asked then, referring to the presents, seeing quite a few were under the now standing tree already.

“None. I got ‘em all. You were a little too late Officer Dipshit,” Negan chided in a teasing tone, and Rick rolled his eyes.

That’s when he realized. Negan was acting fine now, right? Rick thought so. He couldn’t help but be worried though – it’s not like he was one of those jealous types where anyone even looks at his man wrong and he’s chewing the person out, but after Lori? He just got a little scared is all. That’s why he should just … ask, and get it over with. Yeah, he was going to do that. “You’re not uh … seeing someone, are you?”

It was obvious that that was the last thing Negan had expected to hear. Hazel eyes blew wide, and he stared at Rick for a good five seconds before giving a bewildered laugh. “What the shit, Rick? You think I’m that sort of man?”

“Of course I don’t,” the officer quickly scolded. “You were being weird, when we went to bed. It was just a question.”

Negan huffed, staring the other down for a good few seconds before looking to the floor. He seemed to be in thought, before he was looking up again with a shrug. “I don’t ever leave this house, not like I have a way to cheat on you anyways.” Rick wanted to point out that Negan didn’t have to leave the house, that he could bring whoever in here like Lori had with Shane, but decided it best to keep it to himself. Despite that it did mostly make sense, Negan worked at home from his computer, something about car parts retail that Rick didn’t totally understand. He liked the good old fashioned ways, but he supposed the world was moving on from all of that.

“Okay.”

Negan seemed hurt or offended now, or maybe both, and Rick felt shitty for it. He was wishing he would have kept his mouth shut, but there was nothing he could do about it as he was shooed back upstairs so that Negan could sweep up the broken glass. He sat on the side of the bed and waited, and when his boyfriend walked in, still in that damned suit, Rick had to laugh despite the situation. Negan seemed to hesitate before giving a smirk too.

“You like it?”

“You look ridiculous.”

“Lemme’ make it better for you,” Negan hummed, before reaching up to slip off the belt that had been resting over the big red jacket. He slipped that off his shoulders too, and Rick could see just how _perfectly_ those pants rode down on his boyfriend’s hips. He couldn’t help but lick his lips, earning a smug laugh from the taller man. “Guess I don’t have to ask,” he stated proudly. He sat next to Rick on the bed then, patting one of his thighs. “Wanna’ sit on Santa’s lap?”

Rick had almost giggled. Negan had the mentality of a teenager and it shouldn’t turn Rick on, it really shouldn’t. But those damned jokes of his just got to the shorter man every time. Part of him wanted to back out on his vow to keep Negan deprived until Christmas, but he quickly shook himself from that thought. No. He was going to keep Negan all pent up for one more day as payback for everything the other man had ever done.

“Go to sleep,” Rick murmured, hand moving to Negan’s chest to push him down onto the bed. He’d grumbled, before toeing his boots off (were those necessary in the first place?) and settling in to bed, arm out for Rick to do the same. And Rick did, laying on his side to face Negan who was doing the same. The shorter hid his face in the crook of his partner’s neck, giving a small, satisfied sigh before placing a small kiss there.

“Merry Christmas.”

“Happy Christmas,” Negan snorted in return.

“Now go to sleep before the kids realize its Christmas too,” Rick hummed, and Negan pecked his temple, and with that they were both dozing off within a few minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the sort of mellow chapter, next/last one will be the good one. ;) Might be just a day late, since you know, tomorrow /is/ Christmas and all. We'll see. ;o


	6. Merry Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merry (day after) Christmas to all and to all a good night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A day late as figured, forgive me guys. 3 My anxiety has been like an elephant on my chest so it made it a little harder to focus too. I'll miss this fic so much though, and thanks everyone for reading!

“Daddy! Papa! Christmas! _Christmas!”_

Rick and Negan woke up to their little girl sprawled out over top of them, wiggling around furiously and batting at them with her tiny fists. All they could do was give groggy laughs, and Negan swooped her up and they both climbed out of bed, spotting Carl in the doorway. The officer couldn’t blame his kid for never wanting to walk further into their bedroom, he was old enough to know what went on in there. It just amused the hell out of him, and he gave his son’s hair a ruffle (earning some protest) as Negan slipped that damned Santa coat again before they were all heading downstairs, Judith running as fast as her little legs could take her which Rick had to scold her for once they got to the stairs.

“But Daddy! Christmas!” The blonde whined, as she carefully made her way down the steps. Rick laughed, holding her little hand to help her.

“Christmas isn’t going anywhere. Better to take it slow than end up hurt,” he pointed out, which seemed to be reason enough for Judith as she slowed down even more before they finally made it to the bottom. She was quick to get into the living room, followed by Carl, and she had almost went for the stockings before something must have caught her eye. It had been the sparkle of the glitter prints, and she gave a loud gasp before padding over. She didn’t even say anything, just sort of stood there, arms out like he was gesturing to the stuff before turning to Rick and Negan wide eyed and her mouth in an ‘o’.

“That is the cutest shit I’ve ever seen,” Negan laughed as Judith bounced around excitedly, speaking now though her words were hard to understand because of her excitement. It really was the cutest thing ever. “C’mon, sweetheart, let’s see what’s in your stocking,” the taller hummed, and Judith quickly giggled and made her way over, plopping onto the couch next to her brother.

“Stockings!” She chirped, doing grabby hands as Negan handed hers to her, and also Carl’s. It didn’t take them long to pick every little thing out of those, both of them already munching on some of their snacks by the time they’d moved to presents.

Rick and Negan sat on the floor, handing presents to the kids, going from mediocre to most exciting and loving the reactions each time. There were stacks of gifts forming on either side if the couch, and ten minutes had gone by and only two presents were left under the tree (or well, one was _next_ to the tree), one for Carl and one for Judith. They did it in turns. First the adorable little blonde opened her present, which was taller than her – it was a huge Barbie house that Rick and Negan never would have known to get if it weren’t for Maggie’s help. Apparently Glenn and Maggie had taken the kids along with them to the store around November and Judith had freaked out over seeing the thing. She was quickly bouncing on her heels the more paper she tore down, giving a bright smile and even crying just a little and hugging at the box.

“Also the cutest shit I’ve ever seen,” Negan remarked, and the deputy laughed a little. Rick had been exactly like that when he had first gotten Carl and then Judith, but he learned to just sort of love everything they did. Well, except all the moody stuff.

Then it was Carl’s turn. His big gift consisted of two items, mainly because the adults weren’t sure which item he’d like more. The first thing he opened was a big pair of gaming headphones, and he stared at the things in awe and looked them over with a smile before uttering a small, “Thanks,” The kid had almost stood too, ready to go upstairs and try them out before Negan was taking some wrapping paper from the floor and crumpling it up to throw at the kid’s chest, which Judith giggled at, tossing some at Rick too.

“Sit down, kid, you’ve got one more,” the man mused, pointing to the other half of the present. Carl huffed but obviously didn’t object to another present, unwrapping the thing to reveal one of the flying drones with a camera locked in. The brunette looked like he was about to lose his shit, at least in a good way. He stared between the two presents in his hands like he didn’t know which damn one to mess with first and the men laughed.

“Merry Christmas you two,” Rick said, almost softly, grinning like the proud dad he was.

“Merry Christmas Daddy!” Judith chimed, going to give her dad a big hug, another one following for Negan too.

“Merry Christmas,” Carl answered, grinning, before he was quickly shooting up the stairs.

The next forty five minutes were spent hauling all the gifts up to the kids’ rooms, and then cleaning up all the paper and whatnot along with vacuuming the glitter. The pair worked on breakfast then, something they called waffle sandwiches, where you take whip cream and pie fillings and syrups and whatever else you wanted and smush it all between to waffles. The kids went head over heels for it every time.

“Be a shame to throw the last of the chocolate sauce away,” Negan remarked, and Rick glanced over to see his boyfriend squeezing some of the dwindling syrup onto the pad of his index finger, wolfish smirk of his covering his lips. Rick rolled his eyes, a small laugh following as he shook his head.

“If we did that I don’t think Carl would ever touch chocolate again,” Rick mused, but his smile disappeared when he felt Negan smear the substance over his neck and he pursed his lips. He sorted of hated having to act like he didn’t want it sometimes. Because trust him, with Negan, he did. But they had kids, and Rick knew that wouldn’t ever be enough for Negan not to want to get down and dirty twenty-four/seven. So at least one of the men in this relationship had to act like he didn’t have the same hormones as a fifteen year old.

Negan closed in behind him, whole body pressing against Rick’s as he placed his hands on slightly slimmer hips. He hadn’t wasted any time in letting his lips and tongue meet the officer’s neck, happily and probably smugly licking up the chocolate just as fast as it had gotten there. He didn’t stop there though, of course he didn’t, still suckling at the already red patch of skin and making the shorter male stifle a gasp when he bit down.

“It’s hard to get in the mood when all I can think about is the fact that you’re still dressed like Santa,” Rick stated, and the darker haired laughed. It was a lie, and Negan knew it too, but he just rested his chin on Rick’s shoulder and watched his hands work the can opener over the pie pilling.

“Would you rather I take it all off now?” Negan purred, and as bad as Rick wanted to answer that with a yes, he only shrugged. “Hnn. It’ll just have to be after the kids leave for their mom’s, then.” And that was definitely a promise. Rick owed it to him after a week and a half of not getting any.

Rick tilted his head a little so he could glance over, blue meeting hazel before they met in a brief kiss, and Negan was releasing the shorter man to let him get back to work. He went to fetch this kids while the officer finished up, Carl soon down in the kitchen and helping his dad move everything onto the dining room table. They all sat down to eat, and not three minutes into the meal the teen was giving Rick a look. The man had only noticed because he’d glanced over to Negan, who was looking back between the father and son like he was witnessing the most damn entertaining thing on this earth.

“Is there something wrong?” Rick inquired after a few seconds, cocking a brow towards the brunette, who furrowed his brows so hard it might have left a permanent crease.

“What happened to your neck?” The teen asked, still staring his father down. Negan huffed a laugh, looking to Rick all expectant like he _really_ wanted to hear the other man’s answer to this. Ass.

There was really no getting out of this. As much as it irked him to think about, his son was probably well aware of what a hickey looked like by now. This was probably just a test for Rick to see if he’d try to lie his way out of it or not. Dammit. Kids could be so embarrassing sometimes. He glanced to his boyfriend, who only smirked, and Rick knew this was a battle he was being forced to fight alone.

“Okay. You not answering answered. I got it,” Carl suddenly huffed then, fiddling with his fork for a second before he was standing from the table. “I’m going to go pack for mom’s.”

“It’s not like I bent him over the counter kid,” Negan snorted, and a horrified expression flashed over Carl’s face before he seemed to cringe and retreat to his room even quicker.

“Was that necessary?” Rick sighed, hand going to rub at his eyes for a second before glancing to the taller man again. Judith was just sitting there watching her dads curiously, innocently unaware of what was going on.

“What? It’s called a joke, I think he can take it.” The darker haired man rolled his eyes, like Rick was being completely unreasonable.

“That’s not the point. I want Carl to actually _like you_ and that’s not going to help that happen,” he stated, and he heard Negan snort on return.

“He’s his daddy’s son. He’ll come around,” the man practically purred, before Negan was pushing out of his seat, plate empty, swooping Judith up from her chair. “Let’s go get your stuff together for your mama’s, huh?” He cooed to the little girl, before sending a wink Rick’s way and heading upstairs.

It was about twenty minutes later and everyone was back in the living room, Carl flying around his drone and Judith watching with excited squeals. Negan even looked intrigued by the thing too, and Rick tried to act like he was but he was just dreading what was to come next too much.

Soon, any minute now, Lori and Shane would be on his doorstep. They’d give nervous little smiles, mainly Lori, and then walk into the house and look around as if to make sure everything was in order, as if Rick had been the one in the wrong in the first place and would turn out to be a shit dad. And then their eyes would be on Negan, criticizing him for his crude language and personality, and his tattoos and his sexuality. It was still something Shane would openly comment on. The first time it happened it had been towards Rick and after a few distinct words between Negan and Shane, the latter had been the one to lose his temper and hit first. You’d think he’d have a little more control being a cop, but after the night Rick had found him and Lori, he’d changed. Hardened. Negan had put up a damn good fight too, but the ex-married couple had managed to pry them apart before they scarred the kids for life. And to this day the tension was the same, but it was resulted in a lot of silent glares rather than fists. So at least there was that.

And speak of the devils, the doorbell rang. Carl had quickly shot up after grabbing up his drone, bag already over his shoulder and he uttered out a quick, “Merry Christmas,” to the two men before opening up the front door and pushing past Shane and Lori. The pair had blinked, and Rick might have heard Shane laugh, before they were walking inside and closing the door behind them.

“Someone must be excited for more presents,” Lori mused softly, eyes on the floor for just a second before glancing up to the two men. “Merry Christmas gentlemen,” she hummed, and Rick wanted to give a spiteful laugh but just flashed a smile and returned the same words. A gentleman? Is that was he was now?

“Merry Christmas to you too Mama Bear,” Negan snorted, bouncing his knee a few times and earning some giggles from Judith who sat there. At the moment, it was a display, Rick knew that. He liked to show off how much Judith liked him in front of Shane, who could barely hold her without her crying. She knew that man made her daddy and papa unhappy, so she must have decided that she wasn’t going to like him either. It was pretty amusing to be honest.

Negan stood then, and Rick only found it right to follow along, the blonde’s little pink backpack in hand. Negan carefully handed the girl over to Lori, and the two officers, now from different divisions, shared equal looks of spite before Rick was handing the bag over to Shane. A look seemed to come over the woman’s face then, and she cleared her throat a little and glanced to Judith before looking to her ex-husband.

“Rick, I uh … have to tell you something,” she murmured, and Rick nodded, so she paused before glancing down. “Alone.”

Rick knew alone meant without Negan, so he automatically shook his head. “Anything you have to say he’s going to hear about later, so just say it,” he said, almost sternly, and from the corner of his eye he could see the corner of Shane’s lip twitch like he wanted to say something, but seemed to hold himself back. Lori took a breath though, and glanced to Shane before looking to the lightest haired male again.

“I’m … having another…“ She glanced to Judith, and Rick moved his eyes to his feet. Baby. She was having another baby, Shane’s baby. It’s not like Rick wished it was his, but still. “I don’t want you seeing them,” she said then. “I don’t want you to be a part of their life. I don’t want them to know you exist. So just … We’ll figure out a way to get Carl and Judith back and forth before they get here, okay?”

Rick knew it was to cover Lori’s ass. She didn’t want to explain that she’d had sex with her husband’s best friend and ruined what small bit of love they had left in them. That was fine. It would hurt more later, but for now, it’d be fine. “Not my kid, not my right,” Rick nodded. He could practically feel Negan fuming behind him, so Rick just turned and made his way back to the couch. “See you guys in two weeks.” It was his nice way of saying ‘get the hell out of my house’.

They seemed to take the hint, and Judith chirped a little, “Bye bye,” before they were out the door.

 Rick sighed, sitting down, and Negan stared out the window with crossed arms. “What a bunch of cunts,” he scoffed. He didn’t say anything else though, probably knowing the shorter man was thinking about it enough as is, and sat beside Rick to place a kiss to one of his temples. “You know, we could just dilly-dally on upstairs and try for a kid of our own,” Negan smirked then, and Rick couldn’t help but smile. He was such an idiot, and Rick loved it. As un-cute as this man should seem, he really _could_ be cute sometimes.

“Yeah. Okay,” Rick nodded, and he was surprised when Negan didn’t give some damned pump of the first or something in triumph. His smirk definitely grew, though.

The trip up to their bedroom wasn’t like you saw in the movies, at least this time around. There was no tongues and teeth clashing in a kiss they refused to part, no carrying Rick upstairs like a goddamned princess, no trail of clothes. It was just them, holding hands like two soft saps as they went up the stairs, Negan smirking like a Cheshire Cat and wiggling his brows at Rick, who rolled his eyes in amusement. It was calm and it was sweet, and it was probably the last thing you’d expect from this pair but that’s how it was. Rick was more than happy with it.

When they got up to their room they shut and locked the door, a habit when they had kids and family-like neighbors. Negan hadn’t hesitated in slipping that Santa jacket off and thank god, throwing it in the hamper so that Rick didn’t have to see it on him again until next year at least, before moving to help the shorter male with his shirt too. Negan took his time though, pressing just a few kisses to his lips, before traveling down the sheriff’s deputy’s jaw and to his neck, giving affection to the mark he’d already left earlier as he worked at the lighter haired’s buttons.

Rick smiled at this gentle side of his boyfriend, hands moving to tug at the velvet belt loops of Negan’s Santa pants. He was given a small hum of acknowledgement against sweetly bruised skin, causing Rick to let out a quick breath before they were both pulling back, stripping off the rest of their clothes and getting onto the bed in no time.

They had two different words for their sex life – fucking and love making. Tonight was definitely the latter, because Negan was kissing him like he was the damned most precious thing in the world and to be perfectly honest, Rick could never get enough of it. The taller man didn’t let the shorter do any of the work either, even though they’d both been all pent up for two weeks in the first place because of the officer. Apparently Negan didn’t mind as much as he’d let on.

The darker haired male parted lips with Rick’s, now trailing his down the man’s body. Negan parted the other’s thighs and kneeled between them with a smirk, before shifting to kiss lower and lower until he finally reached Rick’s cock, sucking at him in a way that Negan had worded before as ‘the best fucking piece of candy he’d ever damn tasted’. It was embarrassing, because Rick was learning not to care, sense most of the things Negan did were. He’d pull off of the appendage every now and then to praise the shorter man’s reactions, and when Rick finally seemed like he wouldn’t be taking much more the taller man shifted up again, letting him get a taste of himself with a kiss.

“Sweet as honey,” Negan snorted, and Rick rolled his eyes, pecking his lips a few more times before resting his head back on the pillow.

“Are we going to get on with this or what?” The officer murmured, voice feigning disinterest but his smile said it all.

 Negan just gave his little giggle, along with a quick nod. “Begging for my cock as always,” he teased, earning himself a prompt “Shut up,” from the shorter man.

Preparation didn’t take long, even after two weeks, and Rick had been eased into with sweet little kisses to his temples, cheeks, and the tip of his nose. The pace was slow, steady, romantic, and if they weren’t kissing than Negan was further marking up Rick’s neck or just resting his head in the crook and trying to keep his breathing steady. Rick couldn’t help but smile like an idiot a couple of times, but luckily the pleasure would made it fade off his face before Negan managed to notice at all.

The end came sooner than either of them would have liked, and well … Negan kept his promise in ‘trying for a kid’. If you knew what he meant. They were soon relaxing, panting out slowly steadying breaths, Negan on his back and Rick on his side, head resting over a just slightly broader chest. Rick could hear the other’s heart pounding in his chest, and he had to give a small laugh.

“I love you,” Rick murmured. They didn’t exchange those words a lot, mainly because they knew they didn’t have to. Negan’s chest moved in a small huffed laugh, before the taller man was finding one of Rick’s hands and lacing their fingers together.

“Love you too Officer Dipshit.”

They’d lazed around for about an hour before finally crawling out of bed, hitting the shower and getting in a good make-out session before separating to different parts of the house. Negan took care of the kitchen and Rick took care of the laundry, and he snorted out laugh as he folded up the now clean Santa outfit. Yeah, Negan was an idiot.

That reminded him. He should probably clean out everything he’d forgotten about up in that closet before he put the clothes back. So he walked over and opened the thing up, pulling out some boxes of old ass clothes or ripped up baseball cards, before coming across something … peculiar. Something that marching down the stairs.

He didn’t like to be one to overreact. He didn’t like putting out _too_ many emotions, especially not when it was something like this. But how couldn’t he? How could he not be devastated and utterly pissed off that he’d been living in a lie for the last two years of his life?

Negan must have heard the heavy footsteps coming, because he was rinsing the last dish and setting it on the drying rack before turning to face Rick. And yeah, there it was, that knowing face of being caught as soon as the taller man spotted the blue box in Rick’s hands.

“Why did you _lie?_ ” Rick spat, tossing the box to the island counter, watching it slide close to Negan before meeting hazel again. “I asked you, and you said no. Why did you do that?” His voice was quickly becoming more broken than pissed off. It was just the same thing as with Lori and Rick shouldn’t have expected he would ever find himself anything different.

“… What in the fucking hell are you talking about, Rick?” The darker haired inquired, still staring at the box with a confused expression.

“Do _not_ play this game. I already know. Why did you cheat on me? Why did you become just like _her?_ ” He seethed, and to his confusion, Negan deadpanned.

“Rick fucking Grimes,” the man sighed, leaning back against the sink counter, arms crossing over his chest. “It’s for you.”

“Don’t give me that. It says Tiffany on it,” Rick shot back.

Negan barked a laugh, shaking his head. “Tiffany _and Company,_ Officer Dipshit! Open the fucking box.” His voice grew a little lower near the end, obviously irritated and Rick didn’t know why. He wasn’t the one that had a right to be. Negan grabbed the box and walked over, yanking Rick’s wrist up and shoving the box into his hand.

Rick looked down to the box. It was baby blue, the name Tiffany in silver, and there was a white ribbon wrapped around the thing. No way, this was a box for a female. It was too … fruity. No, literally, it smelled like watermelon perfume or something. He gave a shaky sigh, sending Negan one last sort of glare before pulling at the white material and opening up the box and …

Oh.

It was a ring. Not a gemmed up ring a female would wear, but a silver band with a black stripe running all the way around the middle. A wedding band … Rick was a fucking idiot.

He set the box on the counter, hand going over his eyes. He’d just ruined it. He’d just ruined everything and Negan wasn’t even going to _want_ to give this to Rick anymore. Jesus fucking Christ.

“I wanted to make it all cute and shit later tonight, Rick, but someone had to go and lose their shit,” Negan huffed out, hand going to rub at the back of his neck now. “I’d never lie to you. And not like that.”

“I’m so sorry,” Rick uttered, feeling like the worst boyfriend in the world right now. He was pretty much calling himself every insult in the book but stopped when Negan was tugging his had from his face, ring plucked out of the box and pinched between two of his fingers.

“Maybe you could make it up to me by marrying me,” Negan smirked, and the shorter man’s heart might’ve stopped. He stared at the ring, and then at Negan, waiting a few moments before shaking his head in disbelief and giving a small laugh, before hastily moving in to press his lips to the taller man’s.

“I think I could do that.”

And, no doubt, after getting the ring onto Rick’s finger they hastily made their way upstairs for a much kinkier round two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not putting any crazy, hot, wild detailed smut in this fic. xD I thought with the fluff and sweetness I had going, it wouldn't be quite as fitting. Sorry if it wasn't the most exciting naughtiness to read, but I at least hope it was still sweet and adorable. <3


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